Menu

Placement Issues

Where will a student with a disability receive his or her special education and related services? IDEA requires placement in the least restrictive environment (LRE) for each child, a setting that is based on the child’s IEP. Use the options and paths below to find out more about:

whodecides placement;

howthey decide it;

what LRE is and why it’s a foundation element in IDEA and in deciding a child’s placement; and

how placement can be affected if a child with a disability violates certain codes of student content.

Considering LRE in Placement Decisions
LRE–least restrictive environment–is a foundational principle in IDEA. What is LRE, and how does it shape placement decisions? This discussion takes a detailed look.

Starter Set of Resources on LRE
Looking for information, resources, and technical assistance to help you and others support children with disabilities in their least restrictive environment in school? Here’s a starter list of places to look online.

School Inclusion
Looking for information about, and best practices for, the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular classrooms and in the daily activities of school?

Placement and School Discipline
How is a child’s placement affected when he or she is being disciplined for a violation of the student code? Find out what authority school personnel have to remove a child from his or her current placement, what authority the hearing officer has, what constitutes a change of placement, and what placement the child will have during any appeal.

Discipline, in Detail
Here are all the details on IDEA’s discipline procedures, which guide how schools respond to behavioral infractions of children with disabilities.

This website was produced under U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs No. H328R130014.
The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the Department of Education.
No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service or enterprise mentioned on this website is intended or should
be inferred.
This product is public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint material from this website is not necessary, the
citation should be: Center for Parent Information and Resources (retrieval date). Title of the document, Newark, NJ, Author.